KIRKUS REVIEW

In another unusual and sensitive intergenerational story, a follow-up to the Batchelder Honor book Garmann’s Summer (2008), the anxious, introspective Norwegian boy now frets about Roy, a bully from the fourth grade. While standing near the overgrown garden of the Stamp Man, an old mailman who’s scary to the neighborhood children, Garmann is goaded by Roy to light a match, which falls and sets the tall grass on fire. The boy earns a new ally instead of scorn when he helps put out the fire, and both Garmann and the Stamp Man discover that they are collectors, one of stamps and one of pressed flowers, with a penchant for numbers. Hole’s expressive, detailed and surreal photo-collage illustrations are similar to those in the first outing, with patterned backgrounds and a blend of contemporary and vintage images from Legos and Batman to a nod to Magritte’s Golconda with raining men. A host of characters, including Elvis, from Garmann’s first outing also return. American readers who look beyond the seemingly quirky illustrations will find a visually stunning tale of friendship. (Picture book. 6-10)

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